CHOP and BGI strengthen partnership with agreement on pediatric brain tumor collaboration

January 10th, 2013, Philadelphia and Shenzhen, China – The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and BGI-Shenzhen today announced a formal agreement to collaborate on research into next-generation sequencing and analysis of pediatric brain tumors, in support of the Childhood Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium (CBTTC). The research initiative will draw on the resources of the state-of-the-art Joint Genome Center BGI@CHOP. That center provides next-generation sequencing (NGS) under CAP/CLIA guidelines, which represent the gold standard of quality in clinical laboratory testing.

The CBTTC is a collaborative pediatric research group that brings together four institutions: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (which houses the Operations Center) and the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Seattle Children's Hospital and Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. The consortium is dedicated to the collection, annotation, and molecular analyses of children's brain tumors. Next- generation sequencing of pediatric brain tumors offers a deep and comprehensive view into the genetic underpinnings of these often-devastating solid tumors. In collaboration with BGI's genomics platforms, the new project will support the development of new and more effective forms of therapy targeted to each patient's specific subtype of brain tumor.

Tom Curran, Ph.D., FRS, Deputy Scientific Director of the CHOP Research Institute, commented, "These important efforts are made possible through the further extension of CHOP's productive collaboration with BGI, a world-class institution in the global genome sequencing arena that is using its scientific expertise and technological know-how to improve medical research."

"BGI is pleased to have deepened its relationship with The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a global leader in pediatric care and research," said Dr. Jun Wang, Executive Director of BGI-Shenzhen. "We look forward to a productive partnership that will accelerate advances in the research and treatment of pediatric brain tumors."

Supported by CHOP's and BGI's excellent infrastructure and extensive experience in NGS services, the BGI@CHOP Joint Genome Center was established in November 2011 under a partnership between both institutions to focus on discovery of genes underlying rare and common pediatric diseases.

Provided by BGI Shenzhen